# Doctor Who Series 9 discussion (spoilers as it airs) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 19, 2015, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-series-9-discussion-spoilers-as-it-airs/731754 "2015-09-19T11:40:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 30
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2015, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-series-9-discussion-spoilers-as-it-airs/731754/581 "2015-11-30T04:25:01Z")
> [@Nobody](#): > > I remember him giving it to her. Well now how does _that_ make sense? MUST … STOP … OVERTHINKING. ---
**Author:** ![Penfeather](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penfeather/32/384_2.png) [@Penfeather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Penfeather)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2015, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-series-9-discussion-spoilers-as-it-airs/731754/582 "2015-11-30T04:43:12Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > Yes one assumes he figured it out without the stars clue and without the clothes there the first time and that once bird was there it cemented the outcome. Stars just made it suspicious to im a bit earlier. Stars that were outside the castle and outside the disc that he is inside of but still visible. And the skulls manage to spread out enough or decay quickly enough that his does not his head on them when he dives out after several million years of it … and the painting was old to begin with and never got any older. Uh … better to not overthink this. > > Trying to remember but did Me flip him the disc just before he teleported? I think the implication was that he got back the dial once he’d escaped the trial that was inside it. The dial itself was a pocket universe that contained the castle. Bigger on the inside. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2015, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-series-9-discussion-spoilers-as-it-airs/731754/583 "2015-11-30T04:45:45Z")
> [@The\_Hamster\_King](#): > > (snip) > > So instead of telling the secret the Time Lords want to hear (and being allowed to escape) he bashes his head against the impenetrable barrier for several billion years and breaks through. > > What do you think, sirs? Thus his message that he took the “long way around”. Makes sense to me. > [@Jack\_of\_Words](#): > > As a fan, I’m of the opinion that you can safely skip McCoy. And Baker, C. **And Davison** … Hey, now. Do that, and you miss Nyssa. Don’t miss Nyssa. ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2015, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-series-9-discussion-spoilers-as-it-airs/731754/584 "2015-11-30T04:57:06Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > Well now how does _that_ make sense? > > MUST … STOP … OVERTHINKING. She confiscated it, along with his key, before teleporting him into the dial. The dial was then sent to Galifrey. ---
**Author:** ![Penfeather](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penfeather/32/384_2.png) [@Penfeather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Penfeather)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2015, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-series-9-discussion-spoilers-as-it-airs/731754/585 "2015-11-30T06:23:04Z")
> [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](#): > > Hey, now. Do that, and you miss Nyssa. > > Don’t miss Nyssa. The trouble with Nyssa is you get Adric as part of the package. ---
**Author:** ![Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/half_man_half_wit/32/21766_2.png) [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Half_Man_Half_Wit)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2015, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-series-9-discussion-spoilers-as-it-airs/731754/586 "2015-11-30T06:56:12Z")
> [@The\_Hamster\_King](#): > > This is extrapolating a bit, but: > > … > > What do you think, sirs? I think that’s very plausible. But if they have access to his fears, why do they need him to tell them his secrets? Seems odd that you can plug one thing from his mind, and not the other. One possibility is that this might just be how the confession dial works: you’re either destroyed by your own fears, or you confess your sins and secrets. But the Doctor just refuses to play by the rules. So the Time Lords didn’t necessarily have to do all that much tampering. It’s also possible that the dial is always linked up to Gallifrey—it’s in some sense a pocket of local spacetime you can carry around in your, well, pocket. Also, did I imagine that, or did he say there’s a TARDIS on the other side of the wall? Anyway, that was definitely a fantastic episode. Scary, too: afterwards, I stepped outside for a moment to catch some fresh air, and when I opened the door, in the darkness, there stood a hooded figure, only visible in outline. Turns out it was just a neighbor out for a smoke, clad in a blanket against the cold, who now knows the [del]girlish shriek[/del] terrifying battle roar with which I ready myself to face evil. ---
**Author:** ![One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/838e76/32.png) [@One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/One_And_Only_Wanderers)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2015, 8:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-series-9-discussion-spoilers-as-it-airs/731754/587 "2015-11-30T08:08:57Z")
Would he have made a dent in a substance x times harder than diamond, with his bare fists, over any period of time up to and including infinity? ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2015, 8:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-series-9-discussion-spoilers-as-it-airs/731754/588 "2015-11-30T08:47:11Z")
> [@One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](#): > > Would he have made a dent in a substance x times harder than diamond, with his bare fists, over any period of time up to and including infinity? Think of it in terms of erosion. As any student of geology will tell you, erosion always wins. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2015, 9:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-series-9-discussion-spoilers-as-it-airs/731754/589 "2015-11-30T09:37:30Z")
> [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](#): > > Also, did I imagine that, or did he say there’s a TARDIS on the other side of the wall? He thought so. It said “Home” and there was a vague box shape. In fact he was wrong, and it was Gallifrey. ---
**Author:** ![leahcim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b4bc9f/32.png) [@leahcim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leahcim)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2015, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-series-9-discussion-spoilers-as-it-airs/731754/590 "2015-11-30T11:22:33Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > When he first saw the Veil on TV, there was something with red bullet points projected on the wall next to it. What did it say? Why didn’t he (apparently) read it? I noticed that, too. There was some text on the wall that he didn’t read. Maybe he did read it on BBC, but not BBCAmerica to make room for commercials? ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2015, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-series-9-discussion-spoilers-as-it-airs/731754/591 "2015-11-30T11:51:59Z")
> [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](#): > > I think that’s very plausible. But if they have access to his fears, why do they need him to tell them his secrets? … It is _his_ confession disc, scaring your last confessions out of you as you finish dying is what it does. “They” just placed him inside it ahead of his time and arranged to be able to hear his confessions. ---
**Author:** ![anyrose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/54ee81/32.png) [@anyrose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anyrose)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2015, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-series-9-discussion-spoilers-as-it-airs/731754/592 "2015-11-30T12:13:25Z")
> [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](#): > > Thus his message that he took the “long way around”. Makes sense to me. > > Hey, now. Do that, and you miss Nyssa. > > Don’t miss Nyssa. > [@Penfeather](#): > > The trouble with Nyssa is you get Adric as part of the package. And Tegan. Which could be a pro or a con depending on how much you like lavender flight attendant uniforms ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2015, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-series-9-discussion-spoilers-as-it-airs/731754/593 "2015-11-30T14:04:49Z")
> [@leahcim](#): > > I noticed that, too. There was some text on the wall that he didn’t read. Maybe he did read it on BBC, but not BBCAmerica to make room for commercials? He did read it. The text was the same as the story he was speaking when the episode started, about something that is always following you slowly. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2015, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-series-9-discussion-spoilers-as-it-airs/731754/594 "2015-11-30T14:15:35Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Think of it in terms of erosion. As any student of geology will tell you, erosion always wins. The waters of Mars woulda had that wall wore down in a million years tops… ---
**Author:** ![Penfeather](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penfeather/32/384_2.png) [@Penfeather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Penfeather)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2015, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-series-9-discussion-spoilers-as-it-airs/731754/595 "2015-11-30T19:13:29Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > It is _his_ confession disc, scaring your last confessions out of you as you finish dying is what it does. “They” just placed him inside it ahead of his time and arranged to be able to hear his confessions. Yeah; the point of the trap was that he’d exhaust all his lesser confessions staving off the Veil until he got to the wall, and would then be forced to choose between death and telling them about the Hybrid. Being the Doctor, he figured there was a way around that which exploited the set-up of the system. A very long way around, and a very satisfying piece of writing: I love that the way out wasn’t a hand-wave or an arse-pull, the exit was consistent with his entry and the choice would cost him an awful lot of pain. Truth or consequences. ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2015, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-series-9-discussion-spoilers-as-it-airs/731754/596 "2015-11-30T19:14:07Z")
It’s a wall of diamond. I’d just wait for De Beers to come and take it away. Probably take a year, tops. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2015, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-series-9-discussion-spoilers-as-it-airs/731754/597 "2015-11-30T19:16:54Z")
> [@Dag\_Otto](#): > > It’s a wall of diamond. I’d just wait for De Beers to come and take it away. Probably take a year, tops. It’s actually harder than diamond. Besides, DeBeers would force a Sierra Leon citizen to do it for them. ---
**Author:** ![Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/half_man_half_wit/32/21766_2.png) [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Half_Man_Half_Wit)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2015, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-series-9-discussion-spoilers-as-it-airs/731754/598 "2015-11-30T19:17:58Z")
> [@Penfeather](#): > > Yeah; the point of the trap was that he’d exhaust all his lesser confessions staving off the Veil until he got to the wall, and would then be forced to choose between death and telling them about the Hybrid. Being the Doctor, he figured there was a way around that which exploited the set-up of the system. A very long way around, and a very satisfying piece of writing: I love that the way out wasn’t a hand-wave or an arse-pull, the exit was consistent with his entry and the choice would cost him an awful lot of pain. Truth or consequences. Yes, that’s exactly what made the episode so great, well put. They established the situation, and stuck to its rules, rather than ditching them at the last minute when everything seems hopeless—until the Doctor reverses the polarity of the neutron flow. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Hamster\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8edcca/32.png) [@The\_Hamster\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hamster_King)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2015, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-series-9-discussion-spoilers-as-it-airs/731754/599 "2015-11-30T19:24:41Z")
> [@anyrose](#): > > And Tegan. Which could be a pro or a con depending on how much you like lavender flight attendant uniforms Tegan was great on the rare occasions when they let her be more confident and aggressive. They spent too much time trying to make her the damsel-in-distress sort of companion, so she came off as whiny. She would have worked a lot better as a headstrong troublemaker like Leela or Ace. Tegan and Nyssa as the brawn and the brains would have been a kick-ass team of companions, and would have nicely complemented Five’s shy sweetness. But the presence of Adric (and an unwillingness to let the girls be heroic) scuttled the dynamic. ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2015, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-series-9-discussion-spoilers-as-it-airs/731754/600 "2015-11-30T19:36:55Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > It’s actually harder than diamond. Besides, DeBeers would force a Sierra Leon citizen to do it for them. A _helluva_ citizen, though. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-series-9-discussion-spoilers-as-it-airs/731754.md?page=29) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-series-9-discussion-spoilers-as-it-airs/731754.md?page=31)